Through his Friends Eyes: A Ninjago Fanfic
by TLFScarheart12
Summary: requested by Fighter Girl and Just Laugh: Cole returns to the dojo after a day in the village in bad shape. He reveals his injuries were caused by his mother and instantly he finds his friends on his side ready to help him.
1. Chapter 1: Cole's Lament

Cole walked stiffly of the giant set of stares to the dojo. He was sore all over and knew he had a lot of bruises, so he didn't go very fast.

Cole couldn't wait to be back with his team. He had had an unexpected and bad turn of events during his visit to the village. He'd run into a woman. The woman knew Cole and had immediately pushed him against a wall picking up a stick and hitting him several times over with it.

After facing that, it would feel good to be with Kai, Jay, Zane, and Sensei Wu again. People who cared about him.

Even so, he didn't want to tell them immediately what had happened. If they saw the signs and asked, he'd answer honestly. But there was no need to bring it up. He felt safe in the Dojo surrounded by his team.

At last Cole made it to the doors. He leaned against the walls trying to ease the pain for a bit before entering. He then opened the giant doors, walked through the courtyard and inside to the sound of someone cooking. Cole knew Kai planned to make udon.

Staggering slightly he made his way to the dining room where Jay and Zane sat.

"Finally! Took you long enough," said Jay.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Cole apologized, "A few issues came up, but nothing I can't handle."

Jay seemed to accept this answer, but Zane seemed less convinced. Cole suspected Zane could sense something bad had happened to him. But before Zane could question him, Kai brought in dinner and everyone ate.

No issues came up until it was time to train the next day.

Cole still felt sore all over, and it affected his flexibility and speed. A rotating training dummy smacked into him from behind making him fall face first to the ground.

"FAIL!" Sensei Wu called out, but he did not immediately start the next cup of tea to time them.

Cole knew from experience that meant he suspected the ninja who failed did so because of a hidden problem. He would pause the training to give the other ninjas a chance to help out and intervene himself if he needed to. Sensei Wu rarely did intervene, though, unless an argument broke out or the ninjas asked him too.

Cole stood on his own as the other 3 came up to him.

"What happened?" Kai asked.

"I'm sorry, guys. I'm not feeling quite myself today." Cole explained.

"What's wrong?" Jay asked.

Before Cole could answer Zane spoke up, "He's injured. I've sensed so since yesterday, but I didn't get a chance to tell you."

The other's expressions grew more concerned.

"Are you okay?" Kai asked.

"It isn't serious," said Cole, taking off his shirt to reveal multiple bruises on his chest, arms, and back.

"What happened?" Jay asked sounding alarmed.

"I…was attacked…while at the village yesterday. I didn't tell you because I wasn't hurt very badly. I didn't think it would affect my skills as it has," Cole told them.

"You should have still told us. After all you're the one always reminding us that we're a team…man, these look like they really hurt!" said Jay walking around Cole to get a better look at the damage.

"I am a bit sore," Cole admitted.

"Who attacked you? Some of Lord Garmadon's skeletons?" Zane asked.

"No, a living person. Someone who's apparently spending time in the village. I honestly hoped I'd never run into her again," said Cole a bit sadly.

"Well who is it?" Kai asked, "You just tell us who, and we'll help you stand up to her."

"It's not as easy as that, Kai," said Cole looking down.

"Why not?" Zane asked.

"It's my mother," was Cole's answer.


	2. Chapter 2: A Team to Back Him Up

Kai, Zane and Jay stared at Cole wide eyed. Cole avoided their gaze. He didn't know why. He knew this wasn't his fault. But somehow still felt ashamed for this.

Cole looked over to Sensei Wu and was startled to find him picking up his timing tea.

Cole must have had a confused look, because Sensei Wu said, "Dealing with this will take a while. And it is more important than training. Cole, I am sorry you have had this misfortune. Let me know once a plan of action is decided, and I shall do what I can to help."

"And the want to help goes double for the rest of us," said Kai, putting a hand on Cole's shoulder where he wasn't bruised.

"Agreed," Zane nodded.

"Ditto," Jay added handing Cole his shirt back, "Here, it's too cold out for you not to wear this. I don't think you'll want a cold on top of all those bruises."

Cole was silent for a moment then said, "Thank you…You guys have no idea what all this means to me."

Cole put his shirt back on and Sensei Wu went inside. Kai put away the training equipment, and the four ninjas sat down in the courtyard.

"Okay, the question on the table is how to get Cole's mom to leave him alone," said Kai.

"Perhaps the best way to tackle this problem is to tackle the source," suggested Zane, "Cole, why does your mother treat you like this?"

"I don't really know," Cole answered, "She's been like this as long as I can remember though. I have fuzzy memories as a kid of always trying to avoid my mom because she would hit me so much. Then one day, when I was 2 or 3, by dad finally saw it happening. He left my mother, and took me with to protect me. I haven't seen her since…In fact I'm not entirely sure how she recognized me."

Cole started to feel better after saying all that. It felt good to have it off his chest. He briefly wondered if this was why Jay talked so much.

"That doesn't give us much information," said Kai, "Would your dad know why this is going on?"

"I doubt it. After he left my mom he told me every time I'd start to think about it, that what happened was the past, and that it was important to keep my focus on the present and the future. So he never answered any of my questions," said Cole.

"Okay so we have no way to find out her motive. Next idea?" Jay asked.

"You said he's in the village. Perhaps Nya can get some information," Zane suggested.

"No way. If those bruises are that she does to her son, I can't imagine what she'd do to someone not of the family. I don't want anyone else involved in this…sorry Cole, but..."

"I know," Cole said kindly, "She's your sister. To be honest, I don't want Nya involved either. It's bad enough that I'm risking you guys getting hurt over this."

"We're a team. You always say so," Zane said, "That woman got us involved the minute she first bruised you."

Kai nodded, "We're willing to risk it if it means you don't have to put up with this anymore."

"In that case I say enough sitting around. Let's do what Kai always does. Rush in and come up with a plan later. We don't have enough information to come up with a good plan anyway," said Jay.

Cole watched the three stand up nodding.

"Cole, you want to come with, or stay here out of danger? The call is yours," said Kai.

"I'm coming," said Cole, standing, "If you guys are going to risk this, than the least I can do is be there."

Cole was already starting to feel better about the situation. Even though the situation wasn't fixed, it was nice to know he had friends to lean on in his hour of need.


	3. Chapter 3: Cole's Mother

The 4 ninjas landed outside the village. Cole slowly got off his dragon as he was still feeling sore. Said Dragon gave a low wine.

"I'm okay," Cole assured it, "Just a little bruised up."

"Looks like there's a festival coming up. It'll take a while to find her in these crowds," said Jay peeking into the village.

"Yeah. The village tends to go a bit over the top with the Shichi-Go-San festival," explained Kai.

"The what?" Zane asked.

"The Sichi-Go-San festival. The festival for the passing of age for children aged 3, 5, and 7. Didn't you go through it?" Kai asked.

"I don't recall doing so," said Zane.

Cole looked into the village as well. There were several families with young children. Almost all of the children were dressed in traditional clothes and the children were playing and munching on special candies. They all seemed to be on their way to various shrines and temples. Along the way to the way to the shrines and temples were stalls like those at a carnival. Some were selling food. Others toys and other fun things.

No sign of his mother though. Cole wasn't sure if he should be relieved by that.

The four wandered into the village doing their best to stick together in the crowds.

"The crowds seem to be thinning," Zane observed.

"Yeah it'll be easier to travel before too long," Kai promised, "And it will also be easier to find Cole's mom."

"What does your mother look like anyway?" Jay asked as the crowds continued to thin.

"Oh…well…she…" Cole stumbled.

"I think I see her," Zane stated pointing to a woman standing near the river.

The ninjas looked and saw her. There was no doubt on who she was. Like Cole she had wavy, raven hair. Hers was just longer reaching well past her shoulders. She shared Cole's rounded face and his chin. The only thing amiss was her eyebrows. They were square like Zane's, compared to Cole's large, bushy eyebrows.

"Yeah that's her," Cole said.

"Hey lady we got a bone to pick with you," Kai said angrily, walking up to the woman.

Jay and Zane followed in suit.

Cole hung back. He knew they wouldn't get anything accomplished if he stepped in immediately.

"What do you want?" the woman asked unkindly.

Cole watched ready to step in should his friends fall into danger.

"This morning we noticed our friend not doing so great. He showed us that he was covered with bruises. He had bruises on his chest, his bask, shis shoulders, his left arm, his right arm…" Jay babbled angrily.

Cole shook his head. Did Jay HAVE to be an unhinged mouth right this moment?

"…And he claims that you did it!" Jay finally finished.

"So what?" The woman asked sounding annoyed.

"Maybe you haven't heard, but we ninjas are a team. When you hurt Cole you brought all of us into the game," Kai said defensively.

Cole's eyes widened when Kai used his name. This was not going to end well.

"So your friends will my son eh? Well do me a favor and give him this for me," Cole's mother replied pulling back her fist ready to strike Kai, and chances were, she wouldn't stop there.

Cole dashed forward and grabs his mother's fist before she could hurt him.

"Leave them alone!" Cole ordered.

His mother turned to face him. Cole's heart was pounding.

"Ah…so this is who you ran off to, Cole. Such a bad boy, dragging your friends down to your own mess, your own level. But don't worry. Mama knows the perfect disciplinary tactic," His mother said coldly.

Before anyone, especially Cole could react, she punched Cole hard in the guts. Cole doubled over holding his stomach. His mother struck again and Cole ended up in the river.

"COLE!" all his friends cried out as he was picked up by the current.

Cole managed to keep his head above the water and he grabbed on to an exposed root hanging over the river. Gripping tightly he managed to pull himself ashore.

Cole lay on the bank wet and shivering. His heart was breaking. He had lead his friends into this mess? That wasn't the only thing he'd done. He nearly killed Zane and Jay in his early days of training. He'd accused his team of abandoning him. He had even once knocked Jay's voice box injuring it.

No wonder my mom hates me, he thought, I deserve the treatment I'm getting.

"COLE!"

Cole propped himself onto his elbows upon hearing Jay's voice.

The other 3 ran up to him.

"Are you okay?" Zane asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Said Cole sitting up.

"You're soaking wet!" Jay exclaimed.

"I'm okay guys really…AH-TCHOO!...excuse me..." Cole sneezed violently, but then he never had mastered the art of a quiet sneeze.

"Come on. Lets go see Nya. She'll fix you right up," said Kai helping Cole to his feet.


	4. Chapter 4: Nya Explains it All

Before long, Cole was on what used to be Kai's sleeping pallet, wrapped in a blanket. He was wearing some clothes Kai had left behind when he had hurried to join Sensei Wu and save Nya. Kai was shorter and less muscular than Cole, so the clothes were a little small, but, at least, they were dry. The others stood nearby.

Nya handed Cole a hot cup of tea, "Here this should warm you up."

"Thanks Nya," Cole said quietly.

He drank it slowly then set the cup beside him. It did help him warm up.

"How did you fall into the river anyway?" Nya asked.

"Oh! I just slipped," Cole told her, "Guess I'm having a bit of an off day. But they happen."

Nya's look told Cole that she wasn't buying it.

Cole looked over at Kai. Neither of them wanted Nya in this mess. But right now it seemed pretty unavoidable.

Finally Kai spoke, "Cole's in trouble. His mom is in the village and has been hurting Cole for the past 2 days."

Cole stared at Kai in disbelief. He expected him to simply come up with a better lie.

Cole then looked back to Nya who was wide eyed.

"You kidding!" she exclaimed.

"He's all covered in bruises if you need proof. He showed us during training when we noticed he wasn't able to do as well as he normally does. We knew something was wrong anyway. Even Sensei Wu did which is why he stopped training…" Jay babbled.

"We came to the village to go after her, but Cole was pushed into the river," Zane cut him off.

For a while there was silence. Cole wanted to break it. It felt uncomfortable. But he didn't know what to say at this point.

"I…didn't know she meant you," Nya finally said.

"What?" Jay asked sounding confused.

"Two days ago a woman was near the shop." Nya explained, "She wasn't a customer so I wouldn't have noticed her if it weren't for two things. One, I was shocked that she looked so much like Cole. Two, she was mumbling her life story to herself and I over heard her say if she ever met her son again she'd make sure he was punished for causing other people misery. Cole if I had known who she was I would have done something."

"It's okay…" Cole said quietly, dropping his gaze.

He wasn't sure if it was the river or the stress, but Cole was feeling tired out. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before due to worry which didn't help.

"Do you remember exactly what she said?" Zane asked, "Did she say why she hates Cole so much?"

"Well apparently she married Cole's father because he had a job that required him to travel a bit." Nay told them, "She could see more of Ninjago that way. She was a girl who loved her freedom. But when she had Cole, she believed that freedom was over. She decided to make him pay. She succeeded until…"

"Until my dad found out. They know," Cole said.

"Cole, I'm really sorry. I had no idea," Nya apologized.

"You couldn't have done anything anyway," Cole told her quietly.

"You don't look so good," Kai observed.

Cole looked up to see the others gather closer looking worried.

"I sense he's over tired," said Zane.

Cole nodded and closed his eyes, "I'm just going to rest my eyes for a bit."

He felt someone gently laying him down covering him with the blanket.

"You should go ahead and have a nap," said Nya's voice, "You've had a long morning."

"Your mom won't get away with this. We'll take care of it," said Jay's voice.

"Don't…" Cole mumbled sleepily, "Not without…me…my…fault…"

Sleep overtook him then.


	5. Chapter 5: The Real Cole

When Cole awoke he was alone in the room. A bowl of hot ramen was by the sleeping pallet with a note.

The ramen is yours if you want it. It's past lunchtime.  
>We'll be downstairs when you're ready to talk with us again.<br>-Nya

Cole took the ramen gratefully. He was hungry.

As he ate he began planning his next move. He knew two things:

One, He didn't want the others to get further involved. He wanted to face his mother himself.

Two, the others wouldn't let him.

Cole couldn't blame them for that. They were a team. But as a team, Cole had dragged them down. His mother made that clear. Now he needed to set things right.

When he finished he set the bowl aside and checked his ninja suit. It was still slightly damp, but he'd have to risk it. He couldn't move very well in Kai's clothes.

After he changed he quietly opened the window and jumped out catching the window across the way with his hands. Then he let himself drop from the other window, landing harmlessly on his feet.

Cole stood and looked around. It seemed the festivities from that morning had quieted down.

Good, he thought, I'll find her easily now.

Cole darted down the streets on the village going this way and that.

At last he spotted her leaning against one of the buildings muttering. To anyone who didn't know her she would look like she head mental issues, and not the good kind.

"Enough is enough," Cole declared, "This ends today."

Cole's mother looked up and gave a nasty smile, "So you survived the river, huh? Tough kid. But then, you always were the stubborn kind."

"Look, I don't care if you like me or not. My friends are more of my family then you will EVER be. But you can't pick on me anymore. Nor can you hurt my team." Cole said angrily.

"Why? Because you've done them enough harm?" his mother asked.

Without warning she grabbed Cole by the neck. Cole struggled to breathe.

"I know your type," she said, "from the moment you were born you've ruined the lives and dreams of those around you. How do you know you haven't done the same for your so called team?"

Suddenly her arms were hit by the flat of a blade causing her to let go of Cole.

Cole dropped to the ground coughing. He looked up. Kai had his blade up to his mother's throat.

"Because we say so!" Kai said angrily.

Zane put his shurikan to the other side of her throat.

"Cole is a great leader. It is you who ruins lives," he said.

The chain of Jay nunchucks went around her throat, not choking her but trapping her.

"Cole is one of the best friends we could ask for. That's why we helped him track down you," he said.

"Us, on the other hand, do have the power to ruin your life," Nya said walking up to the scene, "I'll make it simple for you. Leave town now and continue your freedom. Continue hurting Cole, and we hand you over to the authorities, and your freedom truly is out the window."

The others took their weapons off her. Cole's mother glared at her son than ran off.

Jay walked over to Cole and helped him to his feet.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah…" said Cole, "How did you know I was in trouble?"

"Zane of course," Jay smiled, "He sensed you were in danger and lead us here. Besides we somewhat saw it coming. It was easy to tell what your mom was saying was getting to you. You've been depressed all morning. Not that we blame you."

"Thanks Zane…Thanks all of you…" Cole said humbly.

"Anytime," Zane replied.

"Did…you guys really mean what you said to her?" Cole asked.

"Of course," Kai said, "Look just forget about your mom. She has you pegged all wrong. We know the real you. And we'll be here to remind you anytime you need it."

Cole smiled. Hearing that meant a lot to him. He had made mistakes in the past, but he was who he wanted to be: a loyal friend, and a team player.

Suddenly the wind changed slightly and Cole shivered hard.

Nya frowned and put a hand on the arm of his ninja outfit.

"Still wet," she said, "Are you trying to catch a cold? Let's get you back indoors"

Footnote to Fighter Girl and Just Laugh: Thanks for the request you two. Given how little about Cole's past is revealed on the show, it was good to be able to stretch some ideas about his origins.


End file.
